Space Tourism … and Much More
OSC's Taurus II rocket at Wallops Island.
Construction of a new launch pad for Orbital Science Corp.’s Taurus II rocket should begin this summer, the company’s launch site manager said.
Continue reading ‘Taurus II Launch Pad Construction to Begin This Summer’
The Orlando Sentinel has identified most of the members of the review panel that will be led by Norm Augustine to review the troubled Constellation lunar program.
The list includes some interesting names, including XCOR CEO Jeff Greason, former NASA astronaut Sally Ride, Aerospace Corporation CEO Wanda Austin, and former Boeing executive Bohdan “Bo” Bejmuk (who helped to put together Sea Launch).
Read the full list here.
NASA's Ares I rocket lifts off in this artist's conception. (Credit: NASA)
NASA PRESS RELEASE
The first flight test of NASA’s new rocket configuration to carry astronauts into space will take place later this year. Ares I-X consists of a four-segment first stage solid rocket motor, and a simulated upper stage that represents the weight and shape of the Ares I rocket and Orion crew vehicle. It will be launched in a suborbital arc into the Atlantic to collect data on its flight dynamics and parachute recovery performance.
Artists conception of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft in orbit
Elon Musk said today that his company SpaceX could fill most the gap between the end of space shuttle flights in late 2010 and the beginning of Orion mission in 2015.
Continue reading ‘Musk: SpaceX Could Fill the “Gap” in Three Years’
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Scaled Composites has completed the first series of tests on the rocket motor for the SpaceShipTwo spacecraft, clearing a major milestone toward testing of the suborbital tourism vehicle, Virgin Galactic President Will Whitehorn said on Thursday.
Continue reading ‘Scaled Completes First Hot Fire Rocket Tests for Space Tourism Vehicle’
O’Malley wants more funds for aerospace
Baltimore Sun
Hoping to tap into an economic engine that can weather the recession, Gov. Martin O’Malley unveiled a strategy Tuesday for bolstering the space industry’s foothold in the state by lobbying for more federal dollars and emphasizing science and mathematics in schools.
Continue reading ‘Maryland Governor Wants to Build Up Space Industry’
A new center catering to adventure travelers and would-be space tourists opened its doors at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport in  Florida.
Aurora Aerospace began operating on May 1 as a “Space Camp on steroids,” offering customized programs that include flight training, high altitude jet rides, spacecraft simulations, academic training and more, said CEO Howard Chipman.
Continue reading ‘New Space Tourism Center Opens in Florida’
London financier Per Wimmer had a bit of good news to deliver during Space Investment Summit 6 on Wednesday. The willingness of investors to take financial risks seems to have recovered.
“In the past six weeks, (there has) been a massive change in the marketplace,” Wimmer told the audience.
Wimmer said he had been up at 2:30 a.m. to complete a million dollar deal; he completed a second deal worth $25 million by lunchtime. Although neither of the deals involved space, the recovery of investor’s “risk appetite” was a good sign for commercial space.
Wimmer has reservations on both Virgin Galactic and XCOR, which are both planning space tourism flights.
Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo with SpaceShipTwo (credit: Virgin Galactic)
The emerging space tourism industry will prove to be a boon to microgravity biomedical research, the CEO of a space research company said on Wednesday.
Continue reading ‘Expert: Space Tourism Will Be Boon to Biomedical Research’
The planned NewSpace Center in Titusville, Florida will give visitors an immersive way to experience our future in space, the project’s manager told a space gathering on Wednesday.
Continue reading ‘NewSpace Center Aims to Bring Future to Tourists’
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